American AAR : AI Experiments In HoI3

[Eurasia]

AI Experiments In HoI3
Chapter One Hundred-Fifty-Eight : Same Old Same Old

De Gaulle In France?​

We open this chapter, as I start the clock, with the 2nd Army HQ changing its mind and deciding to go to Texas. Dallas in fact. So....what happened there? Confusion caused by uploading the save? I have no idea.

Since the 1st Army Group no longer had anything to do with the 1st Army HQ I told them to move to Petersburg. Just to be that much closer to Africa. Not that it would help with the radio ranges. Hmmm...I'm pretty sure that's NOT where the city of Petersburg is but never mind.

Then I received a report that stated that the Country of Sweden was leaning towards Comintern. Oh boy. Well, can't blame them. They are sandwiched between German occupied Norway and the Axis Nation of Finland.

Then another convoy was attacked and we lost a shipment of Boston Cream Pancakes! And yes, they have such a thing in Boston.

But then I noticed a LOT of movement in Latin America. It seems that the Divisions at the Guatemalan Front are being reorganized. The 7th Corps HQ is being moved.

There are also three Armored Divisions being moved up to the Front. Interesting. I wonder if that means I rebooted the units under the 1st Army and they are now, in fact, thinking about attacking?

Then the Italians attacked in Africa again. Oh boy.

This is a screenshot I captured to show you what was happening in Africa. As you can see the Italian Juggernaut is unstoppable!

They are also still fighting the British over the Island of Sardinia. I would think that having Malta would be enough for them.

Then I noticed a tiny Militia unit in France controlled by De Gaulle. One Division of three Brigades. One unit of French Freedom Fighters in Bergerac. This will not last long.

So we end this chapter with not much changing. The Divisions under the 1st Army seem to have become more active but not sure what that MEANS. So far it looks like the same old stuff. The Italians are winning in Africa and I doubt the Germans will be losing France to one Division of Freedom Fighters.

 

[stnylan]

Bless de Gaulle for trying

 

[Bullfilter]

Vive Le France! Well, for a few nanoseconds anyway.

I hope Guatemala is worth it if it is finally is conquered. Though I doubt it!

Africa? It’s more about the Middle East now.

Mindanao presumably is still in the balance. But maybe the Navy will do something useful to relieve all the bad news. Go Spruance!

 

[serutan]

Bless de Gaulle for trying

Mayhap he got tired of bickering with Churchill.

 

[Eurasia]

AI Experiments In HoI3
Chapter One Hundred-Fifty-Nine : Battle Of Tandag

Baby Sea Turtles Fleeing The Japanese Attackers
​

We open this chapter with the Italians launching a Ground Attack on the Allies in the Battle of El'Auja. It would be nice if the Royal Air Force was around to protect my HQ units. *sigh*

When the Italian pilots finally ended their run they left behind 23 dead Allied soldiers.

The Italian aircraft was back early the next morning. No doubt many an Allied soldier or officer was forced out of their beds by the sirens. I did notice some Allied aircraft attacking one of the approaching Italian Divisions. So we DO have aircraft in the region!

It doesn't look like the Italians are having a good time at the Battle of El'Auja. It could be they are having issues with supplies. And our men are dug in. On the other hand the British Infantry Division has no Organization left. On the gripping hand, a stormy night may be affecting the Italians' Attack tactics.

Hard to tell from the Supplies Map. It could be the Allies who are hurting for supplies. After all the Italians do have TWO ports right behind their lines to supply them.

As you can see the Italians seem to be swinging around to the south. I think they plan to cut off the Allied forces or maybe they plan to grab the next port along the coast?

The enemy aircraft withdrew leaving behind another 49 Allied dead.

Back in the Pacific the invasion of Wake Island had started. As far as I can tell the island seemed unprotected.

But my attention was drawn away from Wake by the Japanese attacking the Province of Tandag. This region was protected by a single Division of Colored Cavalry. With the Japanese having a Superior Leader and the superior numbers I feared the battle will not last very long before the Cavalry was defeated.

At least the Japanese were not smart enough cut the Division off from the rest of the American forces. And the weird fact that the Cavalry Divisions have Artillery Brigades might help them.

The Japanese pilots showed up at Midnight to launch a Ground Attack on the Cavalry. Boy, do I feel sorry for these horses. Hmmm...the two CAG units suggest the Japanese Carriers are close by.

Then I received the results of the two Battles at the same times. We lost the Battle of El'Auja, in the Middle East, at the cost of 40 men to the Ground Combat. Of course you have to add another 72 from the two Italian Ground Attacks. Which means the Allies lost 112 men while the Italians lost 70 soldiers. So the HQs must flee again. And if they are not careful they may be cut off.

The results of the second report from the Battle of Tandag was a surprise. It WAS a short battle but also an American victory. I guess the Japanese forces were just not ready for an attack on the province? To be honest I don't know why we won. Even while under attack from Japanese Carrier aircraft the American defenders won the Battle.

The Cavalry lost 27 men, plus horses, while the Japanese lost 38 soldiers. Once again I am not sure WHY the clash ended so quickly but I will not question my good luck. Maybe the Japanese are having issues with supplies? Or reinforcements?

So we end the chapter with a defeat, a victory, and a invasion of Wake Island. Again. The Middle East looks bad. And I don't see the Allies recovering the Suez Canal any time soon. Which means the spread-out UK Empire is going to have a hard time transferring units and supplies to the Far East and Pacific from Great Britain.

 

[stnylan]

Well, taking Wake back is the first stage of re-taking Hawaii - maybe?

 

[roverS3]

Interesting, all those Divisions in Hawai, and none on Wake Island... Maybe the Japanese need to wake up to the threat that posed to their supply lines. Maybe a wake up call from the USMC is just what they need? Otherwise the USMC may well leave a trail of conquests in their wake... All right, I'm done now... let's move on...

As for the Battle of Tandag: The Artillery + the combined arms bonus gives that Cavalry Division a nice boost. US troops were fully dug in. Both Japanese Divisions had to cross a river. The Japanese Regular Division had two support brigades, which probably both increased it's river crossing penalty. The Marines were somewhat disorganised from a previous battle. The weather was terrible, so the CAGs didn't have much impact. When one of the two Divisions broke off the attack, the other followed, as is the usual pattern with these things. So either the AI considered the river crossing by the regular infantry too costly, or it considered the Marines' Organisation too low to continue. I think the first is more likely.
That's my theory anyway, of course this is up for some degree of interpretation...

This continues to be a fascinating dive into the mind of the Paradoxical Paradox AI...

 

[Bullfilter]

Loved the turtles escaping the evil Japanese invaders - they would probably have been turned into soup! The Middle East can I think be officially declared a disaster zone. @roverS3 - into the naughty corner for you for all those wake puns - but that was a good analysis on the battle in Mindanao.

All seems pretty grim at the moment and I’m still wondering what has happened to Barbarossa, but there is still time for the US AIs (under their limited direction) to eventually build and fight back.

However, having said that, their seeming inability to defend Hawaii, help protect the Middle East or to defeat Guatemala does not fill me with optimism about their chances of storming the Atlantic Wall, even with the Soviets in the war. Without them? Come on Uncle Joe, do your bit!

 

[Eurasia]

AI Experiments In HoI3
Chapter One Hundred-Sixty : Battle Of Tagum

General Dwight D. Eisenhower (1)
​

We open this chapter where the last one left off - with the Japanese aircraft finishing off their Ground Attack in Tandag. They end up killing another 35 American defenders. No doubt their way of protesting their defeat in the Province. Poor horses.

Then the Japanese marched into Tagum and took it. I wondered, at the time, how long they would be able to hold it with one Marine Division.

Then a WHOLE bunch of announcements popped onto the screen. First the Japanese Carrier pilots were back in Tandag.

At the same time it turned out Turkey was leaning towards joining the Allies. HA! Looks like they broke free from a "certain" person's control. Run, Turkey, RUN!

And back in the southern island of the Philippines the Americans were hitting the enemy Marines in Tagum. Hard. With four Divisions.

Not only did they outnumber the Marines they also had the Superior Leader in the form of Major General Eisenhower. I wonder how long the Japanese will be able to hold out against him?

The Japanese responded by sending in the aircraft to attack the Province of Manay. Luckily for me I doubt one CAG will do much damage to those units.

The Japanese also launched a Ground Attack on the Province of Mount Apo. This made more sense to me as they had more Wings involved. But I still don't think it will stop our attack on Tagum.

Then I was told that a Naval Strike was being carried out by some of our Naval Bombers. Looks like a small force of Japanese Destroyers and Transports had been detected and attacked by the Naval branch of the Marine Corps. I am not sure if the Japanese ships were leaving or approaching Eniwetok but either way the island is within range of our aircraft. So the enemy ships will pay the price for being so close to American waters.

So we close this chapter with nothing looking too horrible. And it looks like the reorganization of the Air Forces may be working in the Pacific. We will see what attaching them to the Army Level HQs will do for us.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------​

Author's Note:

1. Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was born October 14th 1890. He served in non-combat positions during World War I, was a five-star genera in the US Army during World War II, and served as the Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forces in Europe. He was responsible for the planning and supervising the invasion of North Africa in Operation Torch and the successful D-Day invasion of Europe and the opening of the Western Front.

He became the 34th President of the US from 1953 to 1961. Sadly, while he did some amazing things like establishing NASA, authorizing the Interstate Highway System, and opposing McCarthyism he also approved of the Bay of Pigs, supported the "Domino Theory" in his outlook towards Communism, and helped the French in Vietnam. He carried out coups against democratically-elected governments in Iran and Guatemala. He also threatened to use nuclear weapons until the Chinese agreed to peace terms in the Korean War. Interestingly enough he WAS urged five different occasions to launch atomic attacks on Red China and he refused to do so. So I have mixed feelings about him.

 

[stnylan]

Ah, looks like something useful going on in Mindanao. Let us see how the Japanese Marines like that. Though I am not sure tanks will be super useful, I suppose every little helps.

Well, I must say I think Eisenhower (or more accurately, Eisenhower's supporters) tend to overstate his role in planning stuff - at least in part due to contemporaneous bias (extending into the modern day) about Monty and their reliance on British stuff to get the job done. I have observed a time or two that quite a few Yanks are oddly touchy about that. I suppose partly also the legacy of chaps like Ernest King (may he be cursed forever to the nether hells for the tens of thousands of lives likely lost due to his bigotry). Eisenhower I thinks often gets given credit due to others - which is a not uncommon issue when history gets simplified (ie, the person at the top gets all the credit/blame (delete as appropriate)). To be fair the man, my impression is he himself did not do too much glory-hounding himself.

 

[Bullfilter]

Some fightback in Mindanao - good to see. Some air interdiction there to hinder the Japanese ground attacks would be nice too, but I guess you can’t have everything all at once.

 

[Eurasia]

AI Experiments In HoI3
Chapter One Hundred-Sixty-One : Things Heat Up In The Pacific

American Combat Engineers
​

We open this chapter with a bunch of announcements all hitting me at once. First I received the results from the Japanese Ground Attack on Tandag where we lost 16 soldiers. An hour later the Japanese pilots attacking Manay withdrew leaving behind 39 American dead.

The Japanese Ground Attack on Mount Apo resulted in 146 Americans dead. The American pilots, on the other hand, failed to do any damage to the Japanese ships near Eniwetok. Ouch.

Still, we got good news from our Researchers. We improved on both our Assault Weapons and Bridging Equipment. Our Engineers, what few we have of them, should be pleased.

The Japanese pilots were soon back carrying out a Ground Attack on Mount Apo while they were also carrying out a Naval Strike near Wake Island.

Now, as you can guess I was somewhat surprised by that last attack. Because the airbase on Wake Island was empty and the one Japanese ship in port was NOT a Carrier. But I found the answer when I expanded the map to look around. There is a huge Japanese Fleet heading eastwards into American waters to the south of Wake Island. What ARE they up to?

Sadly, I have other things to worry about. The Japanese attacked the Cavalry in Tandag again. I was wondering, at the time, if it would end up with the same results as last time. While the Americans were outnumbered they were dug in and had Major General Keyes. Just like last time. While the Japanese had no Leader at all. And the weather was bad. I don't know if that will protect us from Ground Attacks but I hope it will.

So the Japanese have sent a large Fleet into American waters. And they look like they are heading for Hawaii. Will the enemy make the islands into a base in which to strike out against American islands or even the MAINLAND? Is that why Hawaii is crawling with Marine Divisions? Will this move be the beginning of the end of the war in the Pacific? Or are the Japanese AIs just as stupid as my AIs? Only the future can show us the answers.

 

[stnylan]

That is a rather large fleet. Hopefully they do not cause issues with the invasion.

 

[roverS3]

This new battle of Tandag is quite a bit less favorable. This time around the attackers are three elite IJN SNLF Divisions, all Marx3, Eng, I believe, so definitely very good azt crossing rivers. They're attacking from three directions, still all three over a river. The odds are now worse for the defenders... But with the Japanese short a commander, bad weather, and the AI, who knows what the outcome will be.

Very curious as to where that Japanese Fleet is going. Johnston Atoll? New Zealand?

Where are your Engineers?

 

[Bullfilter]

Would have been nice if the some of the various US carrier fleets (eg the big one with the dozen CAG wings) could have done a Midway on that fleet. But they spell danger going around in a big stack like that

 

[Eurasia]

Where are your Engineers?

To be honest I don't think I have any. I only remember to make them when I am Germany and want them for my Tank Divisions. Sadly, I think I have neglected the Engineers in this AAR. May have to look into that but kind of want to focus future production on Naval and Air Units. Running low on Manpower to be honest.

 

[Eurasia]

AI Experiments In HoI3
Chapter One Hundred-Sixty-Two : Carrier Planes And Capital Ships

American Marines Invading Wake Island
​

We open this chapter with more reports. The Japanese pilots killed another 299 American soldiers at Mount Apo and the Japanese Carrier pilots did damage to Spruance's invasion force.

The Japanese Carrier pilots were soon back. And in greater numbers. Eight CAGs! Seems the first wave may have been a scouting group or a probe. Ouch!

The Japanese pilots also revisited the Province of Mount Apo. With bombs.

Back at Wake Island the Japanese pilots were withdrawing shortly after noon. Once again they did damage some of the ships. But I wasn't checking after each attack like I might if just playing the game for fun. I didn't want to flood the chapter with damage reports every second paragraph. And the damage caused by CAGs really didn't do much unless combined with a Naval Battle. Still, some of the Capital ships do show signs of damage.

The Japanese finished their bombing run in Mount Apo. They left 44 dead Americans in their wake.

The Japanese Carrier pilots were quick to return. They must have pretty good crews, well trained and experienced, to rearm and refuel those planes so fast. And my ships, as I pointed out before, are being damaged. But all those attacks on our Fleet, in the end, failed to stop it.

For by 8 PM on the 20th of June the 3rd US Marine Division took Wake Island. As you can guess the Island's infrastructure, airbase, port, and anti-craft weapons have all received damage. Maybe from this invasion. Maybe from the others. And we still had a enemy ship in port.

The Japanese Carrier planes withdraw right when the 1st Transport Fleet was heading for the newly taken port. A good place to repair and take on supplies. Of course the Japanese ship, the Heavy Cruiser the Atago, now had to escape the port.

Our own CAGs launched an attack of their own on the fleeing Atago. Already heavily damaged it IS in danger of being sunk.

So we close this chapter with the taking of Wake Island and the Japanese continuing to show me that they have a LOT of air power. But my worry is what they plan to do with their sea power.

 

[stnylan]

There are certainly quite a lot of Japanese Carriers nearby

 

[Bullfilter]

Any idea what your own CAGs we’re doing when the Japanese CAGs were attacking? Not trying to intercept them, or striking back at the Japanese carriers, Midway-style? I’m also thinking you would be much happier with better carrier aircraft, so are probably researching the heck out of the relevant techs right now.

 

[Eurasia]

Any idea what your own CAGs we’re doing when the Japanese CAGs were attacking? Not trying to intercept them, or striking back at the Japanese carriers, Midway-style? I’m also thinking you would be much happier with better carrier aircraft, so are probably researching the heck out of the relevant techs right now.

I assume they were resting which is what everything does when not patrolling or fighting. As for Research the top of the list is Radar, Nuclear Research, and I think industry related sciences. Very long term research mixed in with short term research.